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PENINSULA CLARION: Art exhibit takes a turn (06/06/2017)

The 2017 Summer Exhibit at the Kenai Chamber of Commerce &Visitor Center (KVCC) opened May 26 and is a show not to be missed and visited frequently.

For the first time the KVCC is featuring the amazing art of local Kenai Peninsula Woodturners, a group of local hobbyist and semi-professional men and women who love to turn wood. At the opening reception the ten wood turners whose work is on display were present to explain their technique, interests and give demonstrations to visitors.

“It’s an amazing show. We started working on this back in March and have been amazed at the talent that we have here locally. Some of these pieces are almost hypnotic and the more you look at them the more you see and wonder at the patterns of Mother Nature. You can spend hours here and still not see it all, so it’s a good thing it’ll be all summer,” said Johna Beach, KVCC CEO.

Sterling Rasmussen is president of the Kenai Peninsula Woodturners Association, the Peninsula chapter of the American Association of Woodturners.

“We meet at 3 Guys, No Wood, a workshop and store located at milepost 100 of the Sterling Highway just south of Soldotna where Echo Lake Road meets the highway. We meet throughout the year and serve woodturners and teach all levels of interest and are also a retail shop,” he said.

Paul Johnson’s father-in-law got him started turning wood in Barrow.

“We call him the original guy. He taught me when I was 26 as part of my student teaching in Barrow and that’s where the ‘No Wood’ comes from in our shop’s name, because it was 500 miles to the closest tree,” explained Paul.

His wife Shannon also turns wood at the 3 Guys, No Wood shop.

“I’ve turned a few bowls but my job is primarily to run the store and do all the paper work and keep all of the Kenai Peninsula Woodturner boys in line. It became a passion for my father and he passed that on to my husband and when we came here we had so many bowls we had to have a bowl store and then we met the Kenai Peninsula Woodturners and started having chapter meetings at our store and now it’s a generational thing that has become a community thing and we’re happy to have it on display here at the show,” she said.

The Summer Exhibit will be on display through Sept. 4 at the KVCC which is open for the summer 7 days a week. Many of the pieces in the exhibit are for sale and if purchased may be shipped to you after the show closes in September.